Google announces Nest Audio smart speaker to take on the Amazon Echo and it’s coming to India later this month

Google launched the Nest Audio smart speaker last night during its fall hardware virtual event alongside Chromecast with Google TV and Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G smartphones. The Nest Audio that slots between the Nest Mini and Nest Max will replace the original Google Home from 2016 with a fresh design and seemingly better audio taking on Amazon’s newly launched ball-shaped Echo.

It will be available in the US starting from October 5 at a price $99.99. Google has confirmed that the Nest Audio is coming to India later this month though an exact date and pricing are yet to be announced – you will be able to buy it from Flipkart and other retail outlets.

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The Nest Audio has two big takeaways. First is the design. It is now rectangular with rounded edges – think, a loaf of bread. Google is using the same “sustainable” fabric here that it first used in the Nest Mini while the enclosure is said to be made from 70% recycled plastic.

As is usually the case, the Nest Audio will be available in a slew of attractive colours though it will only come in two — Chalk and Charcoal – in India.

The Nest Audio has a familiar array of four LED lights on the front that light up when the smart speaker – and by extension the Google Assistant – is listening to you a microphone on/off toggle on the back. Rest of the deal is pretty minimal and pleasing, like most Google products.

The other big update comes in audio. The Nest Audio is said to be 75% louder with 50% stronger bass compared to the Google Home. It has a 19mm tweeter and 75mm mid-woofer. Google says it has gone through over 500 hours of tuning to “ensure balanced lows, mids and highs,” making it sound natural and seemingly great across genres. And it can adapt to your ambience. You can also pair multiple Nest Audio speakers for a stereo effect.

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Last but not the least, the Nest Audio can do everything that other Google Assistant-powered smart speaker can do which means it can control your smart home devices, answer questions, give weather updates, play music, so on and so forth – you know, the usual drill.

The Nest Audio will compete directly with the Amazon Echo which was recently launched in India at a price of Rs 9,999, though it is still not available to buy.